■ BOXING
Fighter denies drug dealing
British Olympic boxer Bradley Saunders on Tuesday denied any involvement in dealing cocaine after a police raid on his home that led to him being detained overnight. The highly regarded light welterweight was held along with his girlfriend after a police sniffer dog found a suspected quantity of the drug in their back garden during Monday’s raid on their home at Sedgefield in the northeast of England. Saunders, 22, and his girlfriend were released on bail without any charges and he later suggested he may have been the victim of a malicious set-up. “I earn a decent living and have been getting paid since I was 13 years old for boxing. There is no reason for me to be involved in drugs. We’re a well-known family in Sedgefield but since my face has become better known I think I’ve become more of a target. Since the Olympics I’ve been the victim of quite a lot of crime. My house was burgled recently as my girlfriend and I slept — they let themselves into the house through the back and took her car keys. People get jealous,” he said.
■ RUGBY UNION
Prince backs All Blacks win
The All Blacks met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday and were told by her husband, Prince Philip, to expect an “easy” ride when they play England on Saturday. The prince made the comment to All Blacks captain Richie McCaw as the royal couple accompanied the team and New Zealand’s newly-elected Prime Minister John Key on a visit of a giant inflatable rugby ball near Tower Bridge in London. The ball will host Monday’s draw for the pool stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which will be played in New Zealand. McCaw said of the royal prediction: “He was asking me how the grounds were and what it was like to play at Twickenham, actually. We were talking about the game last week — he reckoned it will be quite easy this week, but I don’t know about that.”
■ SUMO
Mongolian made ‘ozeki’
Mongolian Ama was promoted to the second-highest rank yesterday in another show of the country’s dominance of Japan’s ancient sport. “I would like to accept it humbly. I will earnestly devote myself to pursuing the path of sumo,” Ama said during a ceremony at his stable. The decision by the Japan Sumo Association to promote Ama to ozeki — just one rank below grand champion — was unanimous. The 24-year-old wrestler, real name Davaanyam Byambadorj, changed his ring name upon promotion, as other wrestlers have before. His new moniker is Harumafuji, meaning “sun horse” and Mount Fuji. At 129kg, Harumafuji is the lightest top-flight fighter and is reputed for his speed. He made waves in the last tournament which ended on Sunday, finishing runner-up with a 13-2 record behind compatriot and grand champion Hakuho. Harumafuji is the third Mongolian to reach the rank of ozeki and is the seventh non-Japanese ozeki in history.
■ CRICKET
Symonds in the clear
Australia’s Andrew Symonds was cleared of wrongdoing following an incident in a bar three days ago and will be allowed to face New Zealand this week. Cricket Australia investigated the incident that ended with a man being ejected from a Brisbane bar. Symonds was “approached by a patron and handled himself appropriately and with maturity and restraint,” Cricket Australia chief executive officer James Sutherland told reporters yesterday. Symonds recently completed a rehabilitation program.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two